Hudson County Schools of Technology superintendent says no to reviving sports programs next year, and two freeholders are angry and vocal

DAVID JOLKOVSKI/THE JERSEY JOURNALHUDSON COUNTY Schools of Technology bus in Lincoln Park.

The Hudson County Schools of Technology has no plans to bring back any sports programs for the 2011-2012 school year, Superintendent Frank Gargiulo said at a freeholders caucus meeting Wednesday night.

In sometimes heated exchanges, Freeholder Chairman William O’Dea and Freeholder Jeffrey Dublin pressed Gargiulo on their repeated requests to allocate some of the $46.2 million proposed budget to bring back at least some of the sports programs.

The district, which includes High Tech in North Bergen and County Prep in Jersey City, eliminated the sports programs last year when its budget was slashed from $51 million to $45.7 million. The adult education program lost all its funding, district officials said.

Gargiulo said the district’s budget for next year includes $150,000 for sports programs, but there will be no sports programs.

“My board has made it clear, there will be no interscholastic sports at the Schools of Technology,” said Gargiulo, a former high school football coach.

Freeholder Jeffrey Dublin said during the meeting that even a limited return of sports, including track and field, bowling, tennis and volleyball, could offer a good common ground.

“Part of building our children’s minds is through athletics,” he explained. “We are asking the school to give some type of activity to these kids.”

Gargiulo pointed out that students at County Prep and High Tech are allowed to play sports for their home districts’ high schools.

In a heated exchange, O’Dea blasted the school board’s seeming unwillingness to even consider bringing back the less expensive sports.

“Their decision not to meet with us is a statement in itself,” O’Dea said. “We’re losing opportunities for some young people to gain college scholarships.”

O’Dea said that if the district doesn’t agree to reinstate some sports at the school by Monday’s vote on the county budget which includes the HCST budget he would introduce a resolution asking the district to withdraw its application to build the new Hudson County Schools of Technology at Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus.

O’Dea is frustrated by what he perceives as a lack of accountability by the district’s board. “We lose any say over what they do with it (the funds) once the budget gets adopted.”